January is extra "blah"ful

January is always a really tough month from me. Like most people, I begin to emotionally feel the effects of winter weather, the lack of sun and the cold combine to irritate you. In Illinois, we rarely have enough snow to make winter fun, so you're just stuck with the cloudy skies, cold temps and bare trees. There's also the natural let down that comes after the holidays. The weight I gained over the holidays followed by the annual January diet, and you're looking at the checkbook and saying, "We spent how much???" But for me, January has an extra negative factor: it's the month that my Mom passed away. January 19, 1996. I can't believe it's been 13 years, but yet I feel like that was a whole lifetime ago. She never got to meet my husband, or meet her granddaughter. I never really appreciated her, not like you do once you have your own family. I miss her advice, her infectious laugh and her kind spirit. She was a special person and I'm sure she's one of the brightest starts in God's kingdom. Each anniversary is a little easier than the last, but I still miss her very much.

Our lives this week didn't do much to help shake the January "blahs". It was my first week back at work after being off for my surgery. I spent most of Monday unpacking in my new office. I made some real progress in the work backlog, but will spend alot of time on the road this month. Then on the Thursday, we got some really bad news in the form of a letter from Laf's job: "As you are probably aware, the poor economy is having a rippling effect on many industries and now it is affecting Alcast Company. Due to the dramatic reduction in customer demand, Alcast Company is forced to reduce or workforce." Yep, Laf got "pinked". We half expected it, as all the temps were laid off in December, the holday break was extended, and all overtime hours were cut this week. It's an indefinite layoff, they have orders filled until mid-May and Laf is low on the seniority list to be called back. So he'll start looking for a new job. Manufacturing jobs are hard to find anymore, so it's going to be tough. I am faithful that God will provide our needs, and will bring him a new opportunities.

So Olivia and I had "the talk" about cutting back costs and expenses. Until her Dad finds a new job, she'll be riding the bus home instead of going to latchkey. She actually likes this, as she has a couple of hours at home to play until Mom gets home and cracks the whip. She has come up with ideas like sellling eggs (like her American Girl doll, Kit, did in the Depression). When I asked where she was going to get the eggs, since we don't have a chicken, she looked at me like I was dimwitted and said..."the store!" As always, she's my bright light in the darkness. She lost another tooth this week (see pic), her second in a week. She was channel surfing when I was making dinner the other night and stopped on a channel with opera playing...I asked her what type of music that was, and she said "Oprah". Tinkerbell got a haircut this week, reclaiming her title as "Tinky...the hairless wonder!" (see pic) After watching the new Beethoven movie yesterday (Beethoven's Big Break), she's trying to teach Tink some new tricks so that she can put Tink in the movies, and then we'll be rich. I'll let you know how that plan works out.

And if we didn't want one more kick in the wallet...Tinkerbell chewed on the power cord to my computer this week. (Why she's started chewing now, I don't know!) So I went to buy a new one, thinking 10 bucks, maybe? $80! E-i-g-h-t-y dollars! $8-0!! I couldn't believe it!! So Tinker got a lecture when I got home...I'm sure by the look on her face that she understood every word of Mommy's hysteria.

But God always puts your life into perspective and did so again for me this week. It was very hard to be hosting a pity party for our family on Thursday while my friend Kim was undergoing another surgery to remove a tumor under her skull. Our problems seem so minor compared to what Kim, Troy and their family is enduring. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. We also want to pray for the other Alcast families that lost their jobs this week, perhaps they lost their only working family member or have other special circumstances. Please pray for us as well, that Laf will use this time productively to strenghten his relationship with Olivia, and with God, and that new opportunities will present themselves. And an extra prayer that he will have dinner ready every night...Ok, that's probably asking for a miracle!!

I am praying that the rest of January perks up some...just think...only 11 weekends left until camping season starts!!